


Just that lovable

by georgieP, Neko_ryn



Series: Ink Prints [4]
Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Hyunjin is dumb but we love him, M/M, Polyamory, Romance, Slice of Life, Soulmate AU, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, changbin deserves so much ok, changbin is such a good hyung he does to much to help felix and hyunjin feel comfortable, changbin needs a hug, felix and changbin are head over heels for Hyunjin, felix is sunshine incarnate and changjin are whipped, felix shows up later, hyunjin is too soft for his own good, lowkey inspired by changbin trying to speak english when he first met felix
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-20
Updated: 2019-02-21
Packaged: 2019-11-01 11:11:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17866181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/georgieP/pseuds/georgieP, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neko_ryn/pseuds/Neko_ryn
Summary: Changbin knew about the animal tattoos. He knew from his parents that the tattoo symbolizes your soulmate, and that when you meet that person your animals will interact with each other. He knows too, that the tattoos appear when you first learn what love is (though that was a vague concept that confused the middle schooler). But the problem was, Changbin had two tattoos, and he knew for a fact that his parents only had one tattoo each. Hyunjin's parents only had one tattoo each, and all his classmates who had their tattoos only had one as well. His parent's had explained to him that this meant he had two soulmates, and although Changbin had been unsure about how that worked, his parents had assured him it was normal and that he wouldn't have to worry about that until he was much older.





	1. Chapter 1

Changbin can remember the day he met Hyunjin with startling detail. He was six years old and it was summer. He and his mother had gone to the park two blocks down across from the corner store and it had started to rain. Changbin had been overjoyed by this fact and wanted to hurry home so he could put on his brand-new frog patterned rain boots (he had recently grown out of his bunny themed ones). 

As they grew closer to the house, and had no more streets to cross, his mother had let him run ahead of her and he had sped off as fast as his short legs could carry him. So intent on getting home was he, that he didn't even notice the large moving truck parked down the street, two houses before his destination. His path was blocked by the sudden appearance of a floating dresser and he skidded to a stop just in time. He watched with wide eyes as the floating dresser continued on its path, revealing the two men carrying it as it passed. Changbin really should pay more attention to his surroundings, as he was so focused on watching the levitating furniture that he had failed to notice the other boy who was now standing directly beside him.

"Hello! My name is Hyunjin," Changbin jumped back at the sudden voice and spun to face his assailant. He was met with bright eyes and a wide smile that was missing two teeth. The boy was shorter than Changbin, but his limbs already looked too long for his body.

Now, Changbin had never been the most social kid. Even as a young child he preferred playing with one or two children at school, and his mother whenever possible. Perhaps it was his solitary nature, or perhaps it was how taken back he was by the other kid's over-bright smile, that caused Changbin to become as tongue tied as he had then. As it was, he had barely stuttered out his own name before he heard his mom come up behind him.

"Binnie, you really need to watch where you're going." Mrs. Seo chided as she approached the two children, "Oh, who is your new friend?"

"My name is Hyunjin!" The boy proclaimed. Mrs. Seo returned the boy's smile and crouched down.

"Are you going to be living here Hyunjin?" She asked, and she felt her son press himself into her side.

"Yes!" Hyunjin replied, "We used to live in an a-part-ment but daddy got a new job so we got to move to a bigger house." Hyunjin's ever-present smile grew even wider having finished this sentence. He was quite proud of himself for having properly pronounced such a difficult word.

"Woah! That's amazing Hyunjin. How old are you?"

"I'm five years old! Momma said that means I can start going to school like my cousins."

Changbin had wanted to ask if Hyunjin would be going to his school, but at this moment the younger boys father had come out of the house looking for his son. Changbin stood beside his mother while she introduced herself to the man, watching the stranger with wide eyes. Once, he looked back to Hyunjin to find the other child staring at him. Changbin smiled, a little hesitant but a smile nonetheless, and Hyunjin seemed pleased by it so Changbin counted that as a win.

Before long, the rain picked up and the adults decided it was time to go indoors. Changbin let his mom lead him away by the hand, but looked back when he heard someone call his name.

"Bye bye Binnie-hyung!" Hyunjin waved madly at him, and Changbin couldn't help but send his own wave back. It was the name his mom had called him, but for some reason when this bright boy called him that Changbin felt like giggling.

As it turned out, Hyunjin did go to Changbin's school, though a grade below him, and Changbin found himself with a new friend. It was weird at first, Changbin had never really had a friend he played with every recess, he usually floated from group to group depending on what everyone was doing. But Hyunjin stuck to his side like a burr, either agreeing to play whatever Changbin wanted, or demanding the older bend to his wishes. Changbin was bewildered, he didn't know what to do, but as time went on and months turned into days, he decided he liked the dynamic they had developed. Maybe it was nice to have a best friend.

 

* * *

 

Changbin can't remember the exact day he fell in love with his best friend, but he can remember the exact moment he realized it. It was December 21st, a Saturday, and Changbin was twelve years old. They had been planning to go sledding, as it was now officially winter holidays  _ and  _ it had snowed the day before. Unfortunately their plans had been sabotaged by Changbin's immune system. Saturday morning had found the boy sniffling in his chair and almost falling asleep in his breakfast. When the doorbell rang out Changbin felt like crying (it's not his fault he's emotional when he's sick). In his daze he had completely forgotten about his plans with Hyunjin, and now he'd have to face disappointing his friend after he had walked all the way here (it was only two houses but again, Changbin was emotional).

As it turned out, he had nothing to worry about. When Hyunjin had learned of his best friends illness he had discarded his crazy carpet on the front step and thrown off his winter coat, tripping over his boots in his haste to get inside. He had pulled Changbin into the living room and sat the boy on the couch, tucking a blanket around him before turning on the TV to some documentary channel he knew Changbin loved. Then, he went to the kitchen and got Changbin a glass of water. Only when he was certain Changbin had everything he needed did he climb onto the couch himself, immediately wrapping himself around his friend's shivering figure.

Now, Hyunjin was a clingy person by nature. So him koala-ing himself on Changbin was nothing new. And maybe it was the slight fever, or the way Changbin's head felt like it had been stuffed with cotton balls, or maybe it was the fact that Hyunjin was running his fingers through Changbin's sweaty bangs but somehow this time felt different. Changbin felt different. But he didn't know why and thinking about it was giving him a headache and he suddenly wanted to cry. So instead he leaned more into Hyunjin's hand and curled himself deeper into his blanket; because that felt nice, and that much Changbin knew for certain.

It wasn't until later that night, after an hour and a half of failed google searches, that Changbin realized what he was feeling. Even then, he wasn't sure. But when he woke up the next morning with a small inked animal running across his wrist, he couldn't really deny it any longer.

His parents had been ecstatic when he showed him, though he refused to tell them what had caused the revelation. There was only one, very small problem. Changbin knew about the animal tattoos. He knew from his parents that the tattoo symbolizes your soulmate, and that when you meet that person your animals will interact with each other. He knows too, that the tattoos appear when you first learn what love is (though that was a vague concept that confused the middle schooler). But the problem was, Changbin had two tattoos, and he knew for a fact that his parents only had one tattoo each. Hyunjin's parents only had one tattoo each, and all his classmates who had their tattoos only had one as well. His parent's had explained to him that this meant he had two soulmates, and although Changbin had been unsure about how that worked, his parents had assured him it was normal and that he wouldn't have to worry about that until he was much older.

Except he did have to worry about it now, because he didn't know which animal was Hyunjin's, and he didn't know if Hyunjin would also have two soulmates or if he would want another soulmate and Hyunjin didn't even have his tattoos yet so what if he didn't love Changbin back and ok, maybe there were two problems.

Hyunjin didn’t love him.

Now, Changbin knew that statement was ridiculous. Hyunjin was his best friend in the whole world and he had the utmost confidence that Hyunjin did, in fact, love him. But he also knew that it wasn't romantic love, and as the days passed Changbin grew to realize with painful certainty that he wanted Hyunjin to look at him the way his mom looked at his dad, the way he looked at Hyunjin.

He had to give himself credit though. For one, he hadn’t immediately blurted out a confession when he told Hyunjin about his tattoos, because he told Hyunjin everything and this was no exception no matter how self-conscious he was about it. He also, in his opinion, kept his feelings quite well hidden. Even as Hyunjin traced the dancing puppy and lynx shapes on his arms and told Changbin that it made sense that he would have two animals, because Changbin was 'just that lovable' (and if he had gone home that night and cried into his pillow, no one had to know).

Hyunjin also liked to guess what Changbin's animal would be, and told Changbin time and time again that he couldn't wait until he met Changbin's soulmates to find out if he was right (his top guess was a bat, because Changbin had recently taken to wearing mostly black clothing and stayed up too late at night listening to music). And Changbin felt his heart clench every time the topic was brought up.

Hyunjin didn’t love him.

 

* * *

 

Despite Changbin realizing his feelings for Hyunjin, their dynamic didn't really change much. They continued alternating who's houses they did homework at and who's houses they slept over at on weekends. Hyunjin continued clinging to Changbin every chance he got and Changbin continued to half-heartedly shove Hyunjin away only to give in the moment Hyunjin started pouting. Nothing changed.

Except that Changbin had suddenly become aware of every little thing that had to do with Hyunjin. He had always been an attentive friend, but now he noticed everything. He could tell you what shirt Hyunjin had been wearing three days ago, or when he had last changed his toothbrush. So maybe that's why Changbin realized so quickly that something was wrong.

He was in grade 9, Hyunjin in grade 8, and a new topic had begun to come up in lunchroom conversations: dating. And with this newfound outlet of adolescent affection, certain classmates started to garner extra attention. Namely, in this case, Hyunjin had become a frequent object of girl's sideways glances and hushed whispers in the hallways. Hyunjin was handsome, no he was beautiful. Changbin knew this very well, as he himself was guilty of staring a little too long on a regular basis. And at first Hyunjin seemed to like the giggles following him down the hall and the little notes shoved in his locker. It didn't take long for that to change though.

The problems started about halfway through the school year. Hyunjin had grown used to the comments about his face or his height (as he had sprouted a good few inches over the last year and Changbin was still mourning the fact that he was now obviously the shorter of the duo), but he began to realize that the comments were only ever about his looks. He was on the dance team, and got good grades, and did well  in art. But no one seemed to notice that.

The end of term showcase was coming up soon and the teacher had given Hyunjin the center position. Hyunjin had been overjoyed. He wanted to run to Changbin's house, as the older didn't have club that day, and tell him the news. He had rushed to the locker rooms after practice ended, grinning to himself as he changed out of his sweaty clothes. He hadn't really been paying attention to the rest of his teammates until he heard a scoff.

"Of course  _ you _ would get center." A boy sneered, not even bothering to look in Hyunjin's direction. "You only got it because of your face."

Hyunjin felt something drop in his stomach and he felt sick. He's not even sure why that offhand comment affected him so much. He didn't know how to respond. When a few other boys started laughing he threw a clean shirt over his head and ran out. He let himself cry on the walk home, but made sure they were dry before he entered his house. He didn’t feel like celebrating with Changbin anymore.

After that day, Hyunjin felt useless. He felt like he would never be anything more than a well-structured face. He hated it. So he began pushing himself harder, especially in dance. He practiced later and later, even skipping meals to dedicate more time at the studio. He should have known Changbin would notice, he always noticed. But he knew Changbin would tell him that what he was doing wasn't healthy and he knew that he would probably listen to the older and stop his self-deprecating routine. But if he stopped, then he would never improve his dancing and prove that he deserved the center stop and he would never be anything more than his face and that thought terrified Hyunjin. It terrified him more than he had thought it would. So he did the only logical thing he could think of, he started avoiding Changbin.

It was really difficult at first. The two of them did everything together, it's not like he could just cut himself off from the older boy. But he could avoid him for at least the time he was at school, and a good portion of the weekend. They were in different grades, so it wasn't hard to lie and tell Changbin that he had group projects, or extra dance practice, or any other reason why Hyunjin wouldn't be able to hang out that day. And when he absolutely couldn't avoid spending time with Changbin, he found he became too good at redirecting the conversation.

But he also knew he couldn't go on doing what he was. Even he could see how tired he looked lately, though the pale cheeks and dark shadows under his eyes seemed to do nothing to deter his growing fanbase. He had lost weight too, the result of his never-ending practice sessions and skipping meals. He  _ felt _ sick, but whenever he took his temperature it was normal. But it was only a matter of time before he broke.

That day was apparently a Sunday morning, 10am, two weeks before the year-end showcase. Hyunjin had slept over at Changbin's house the night before, because Changbin had absolutely insisted and Hyunjin couldn't deny Changbin's aegyo. They hadn't set an alarm, as neither of them had anything they needed to do that day, but regardless, Hyunjin found himself wide awake at 9:34am. For Hyunjin, who probably wouldn't wake up naturally before 2pm, that was early. But he had developed the habit of being at the dance studio by 9am, even on weekends, and so even though they had gone to bed close to 3am, he was awake.

He lay on Changbin's bed, they had never really stopped sharing a bed during sleepovers, for a good five minutes agonizing over what to do. Logically, he should either wake Changbin up and demand breakfast, or play on his phone until the older woke up. But something in him was screaming to get up, that he was wasting time by lying here and that he  _ had _ to go practice. That every second he wasted was more proof that those boys were right. The panic these thoughts brought with them was so strong that he found himself crawling over Changbin's sleeping form and struggling into his jeans in the half-light of the room.

"Hyunjin?"

He cursed under his breath, when had Changbin woken up?

"Hyunjin where are you going?"

He couldn't look his friend in the eye and mumbled something about having to be somewhere. Changbin wasn't convinced.

"You told me last night that you were free today, you double checked your planner. You don't even have homework to do." Hyunjin winced at how sad Changbin sounded.

"I-I have to…" his hands were shaking as he shoved his pajamas into his backpack.

"Have to what Hyunjin?" Changbin's voice sounded so sad. Hyunjin hadn't meant to make him sad, why couldn't he do anything right. Maybe he really was nothing better than a pretty face.

"I have to practice." His breath caught and he swallowed hard, " I have to get better."

He saw Changbin get off the bed and walk towards him and he couldn't make his legs move. In fact, they seemed to want nothing more than for him to sit down right where he was. He didn’t though, he had to go to the dance studio. He had to practice. Changbin bent down and picked up Hyunjin's backpack (when had he dropped it?) and placed it on the desk chair.

"Jinnie, please…" Hyunjin couldn't hear what else Changbin said because it was then that his legs won their battle and he found himself sinking to the floor, burying his face in his hands in an effort to quiet his sobbing. As if somehow that would prevent Changbin from hearing him. He could hear Changbin saying something, and then there was a weight on his shoulders. It was hesitant, almost afraid to touch him, but when he didn't flinch or move away it became more constant.

"Hyunjin, you need to breath." A voice whispered close to his ear. Wasn't he breathing? He could feel his lungs working, but no, he realized he wasn't really getting any oxygen. There was a hand on his back, moving in slow circles, and there was a voice reminding him to breath again. Why was it so hard to breath? He really couldn't do anything right.

"Try to match your breaths with mine ok," the helpful voice told him, and he felt his hand being pried away from his face and placed on something warm and firm. The thing moved up and down, up and down, and Hyunjin realized it was Changbin's chest. Slowly, he was able to get his breathing to slow, trying to keep them in time with Changbin's. Slowly, Hyunjin felt himself calming down, and he realized he was sitting on the floor, Changbin's arms wrapped protectively around him.

When Hyunjin was able to breath on his own and his tears had stopped, Changbin pulled back. Hyunjin whined at the loss of contact, but complied when the older pulled him up and crawled back onto the bed. Hyunjin felt limp and exhausted and let himself be pulled back into Changbin's arms once they were both settled.

"Jinnie," Changbin spoke up after a while, "Jinnie you need to tell me what's going on. I can tell when you're upset but I can't read your mind."

Hyunjin bit his cheek to stop the sob that was building up in his chest. He really didn’t want to start crying again. It seems his efforts were futile though, as he started crying the moment he opened his mouth. He choked out the story through his sobs. What the boys had said in the locker room that day, how he had realized that no one ever seemed to notice when he got the highest mark on the history test, how all anyone ever cared about was his face. And when he was done he buried his face in his friend's shoulder and let himself break down.

Changbin held on to Hyunjin as though the boy would disappear at any moment. He pushed his hand through the younger boy's hair and held him and stayed silent because he had absolutely no idea what to say. He was a fourteen year old boy in love with his best friend and was powerless to protect him.

They spent nearly the whole day in bed, Changbin even brought their food to the room for breakfast and lunch. Hyunjin had gone home before supper and Changbin spent the rest of the day deep in thought. He knew he had to do something, but he got the impression that nothing he said would change the way his friend was thinking.

There was one thing he could think to do though.

It was hard, really hard. Even in high school, Changbin didn't really have many friends aside from Hyunjin. He wasn't very social and he rarely talked to others unless they started the conversation themselves. But he was doing this for Hyunjin. Changbin could force himself out of his comfort zone if it was for him.

The first time Changbin (loudly) proclaimed himself to be the school's true visual Hyunjin looked at him like he was crazy. The second time he just looked confused. It took a surprisingly short amount of time for the rest of the students to catch on as well. By the end of the week it had become a widespread joke that Changbin was the school's 'Bin-sual'. Laughter followed him in the hallway and kids he had never seen before greeted him, always laughing. It hurt to be honest. Changbin didn't have Hyunjin's face, but he did think he was handsome. He wasn't sure anyone else agreed though. But by the end of the week, no one had even mentioned Hyunjin once.

 

* * *

 

After a week of ‘Binsual’ becoming a school wide phenomena, Hyunjin felt like he could breath. Really breath. For the first time that year, Hyunjin stayed late after dance practice, not because he felt like he’d fail if he didn’t, but because he  _ wanted _ to. It was 5pm on a Thursday afternoon and Hyunjin could feel the cold of the mirror press against his sweat stained shirt. For once he wasn’t alone; his friend Minho, a dancer from an upper grade, had decided to join him that evening and Hyunjin relished in the company. He heard Minho slump down beside him and a water bottle was waved in front of his face. Hyunjin thanked the elder and took greedy sips, running a hand through damp hair.

 

“You look lighter.”

 

Hyunjin looked at Minho in confusion. “What do you mean hyung?”

 

Minho hummed before replying, looking over Hyunjin from head to toe. “You always looked so tired and heavy. Like the world’s resting on your shoulders or something. You look lighter lately, happier.”

 

_ Oh _ . Hyunjin hadn’t realized how noticeable it had been. He really had felt like he had a huge weight on his shoulders up until this week. Really, the only thing Hyunjin could think of that could have changed things was the stunt Changbin had pulled last week, and he told as much to Minho as well.

 

Minho watched him with wide eyes as Hyunjin finished his explanation, as though waiting for him to say more. When Hyunjin stayed silent though, Minho spoke up.

 

“You do realize that he only started calling himself ‘Binsual’ to get everyone’s attention off of you, right?” 

 

Hyunjin’s initial instinct was to protest, but the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Changbin didn’t care about being seen as handsome, Hyunjin knew this. Changbin also hated having too much attention focused on him. He didn’t even like speaking in class! Hyunjin knew this as well. So then why would do something that would have the entire school laughing at him? Really, Minho’s explanation was the only one that made sense.

 

Hyunjin felt like he wanted to cry. When he had told Changbin about how he hated the attention his looks garnered, he had been expecting Changbin to cuddle his pain away, to maybe make the effort to praise him more often for his dance or grades. He had definitely not been expecting Changbin to go so far in his efforts to make Hyunjin more comfortable and oh no, he really wanted to cry right now. 

 

Hyunjin curled into himself, trying to hide his unshed tears in his arms as he shrunk away from Minho. Minho, for his part, seemed to realize Hyunjin needed the space and quietly returned to his practice. 

 

He was so focused on stopping himself from crying that he nearly missed it. A smudge in the corner of his eyes. Then another. It brought Hyunjin back from his trance-like state and he gasped at what he saw. Two small animals dancing across his skin. 

 

So many emotions erupted in Hyunjin’s heart at that moment. Joy came first, along with the realization of just how much, and how non-platonically, he loved his best friend. Excitement, and the burning desire to run to Changbin right that second. But all of that was quickly replaced by an overwhelming anxiety that  _ what if he and Changbin aren’t soulmates _ . Because ya, Changbin had been the trigger for his marks to appear, but that didn’t mean that they were destined. And maybe Hyunjin had spent his childhood preaching that he wouldn’t let anyone but his own heart dictate who his soulmate was but he really, really wanted it to be Changbin. And he was very scared that it wouldn’t be. And yet, Hyunjin was 98.7% certain that he knew this lynx tattoo from watching it run across Changbin’s skin all those years. 

 

* * *

 

Hyunjin had hope, but he was also a shy thirteen year old boy, not to mention a hopeless panicked gay. He thought about what he should do all night and finally, at sometime between 3am and his first alarm going off, he found his solution. He would hide his marks from Changbin. And to do this he would avoid the elder at all costs, or at the very least avoid direct contact with him.

 

To Hyunjin’s credit, he actually did pretty well. Though he supposes he did have a lot of practice at avoiding the boy after the past few months. Still, it was harder this time. Hyunjin found himself hyper-aware of Changbin’s emotions, and it hurt him to see how sad Changbin was whenever Hyunjin blew off their plans or made an excuse as to why he couldn’t come over. It hurt a lot more than it did a month ago and Hyunjin could feel himself weakening and logically he knew he couldn’t avoid Changbin forever.

 

And that’s how he found himself, three days after his marks appeared, curled up against Changbin on the smaller boys bed. It was Sunday afternoon and Hyunjin was warm and sleepy and Changbin was soft and comfy and Hyunjin was weak, so weak. He fell asleep to the sounds of Changbin laughing at the bad 90’s anime playing on his laptop. The vibrations of Changbin’s cackles only aided in lulling Hyunjin into unconsciousness faster.

 

Changbin wrapped his arms around Hyunjin’s sleeping figure, squeezing him just a little bit tighter. He had been confused when Hyunjin had started to avoid him again, and more than a little bit hurt. He had thought his ‘Binsual’ trick had solved the whole problem, but Hyunjin seemed to be avoiding him even more than before. Changbin examined the boys face as he slept, watching carefully for any signs of stress or sadness on Hyunjin’s otherwise angelic face. He pulled back slightly when Hyunjin mumbled something in his sleep, the younger boy shifting and reaching one hand up to clutch at Changbin’s shirt. It was almost too endearing and Changbin found himself holding his breath as he took in the sight. God help him with this stupid crush. Hyunjin really wasn’t making it easy for it. Gently, so as not to wake the sleeping boy, Changbin took Hyunjins hand in his own and moved to wrap it around a plush Pokemon toy he had on his bed. 

 

Or he would have, if he hadn’t seen a falcon flying across Hyunjin’s tanned skin. He sat, frozen, as a familiar puppy inched across his own wrist, meeting the bird halfway to dance wildly around its inky body.

 

And Changbin, promptly, burst into tears.

 

Changbin is, he hates to admit it, an ugly crier. His sobs are loud and more often than not he ends up hacking after choking on his own spit and his nose runs and his eyes get all red and puffy. It’s not a pretty sight. It’s also not a quiet one either, and Hyunjin, deep sleeper though he is, is woken up almost immediately. 

 

Changbin couldn’t even reply to Hyunjin’s frantic questions as to what was wrong. He couldn’t do much more than bury his head in his arms and curl against Hyunjin’s side. Two years. Two years Changbin has kept his love for his best friend a well guarded secret. Hell, even his sister didn’t know about it, and Changbin told his sister everything. Two years Changbin had kept his thoughts locked away, determined to cherish the friendship he had with Hyunjin for what it was. Two years he had lived convincing himself that Hyunjin would never love him back.

 

Faintly, he could hear Hyunjin still trying to determine exactly what was wrong with Changbin. Instead of answering, Changbin reached out and took Hyunjin’s hand again. And this time both boys watched with bated breaths as Hyunjin’s puppy wove circles around Changbin’s falcon. When Changbin looked up again, there were tears on Hyunjin’s cheeks and stars in his eyes. They collapsed back onto the bed, wrapping their arms around each other and pulling the other close. Burying themselves into arms, and chests, and hoodies, and hair.

 

After a few minutes, Changbin pulled his face away from Hyunjin’s chest. Both boys were still sniffling, and Changbin admired how beautiful Hyunjin looked, even with tear stained cheeks. He marvelled in how he could think that without swallowing back his thoughts. Sighing happily, Changbin snuggling a little closer to the taller boy.

 

“You know, I’ve been in love with you since I was twelve.” Changbin whispered. He felt Hyunjin shift above him and glanced up to meet curious eyes. “Realizing how much I loved you is what made my marks appear.”

 

Hyunjin smiled. His bright, glowing grin that Changbin loved to much. Full of teeth and and rosy cheeks, and eyes hidden behind thin crescent moons. And Hyunjin giggled, and Changbin revelled in the sound. 

 

“For what it’s worth,” Hyunjin whispered, “I think you’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever known.”


	2. Chapter 2

Changbin arrived at Hyunjin’s doorstep at quarter past 7am and let himself in with the spare key under the flower pot. He knew very well that Hyunjin’s parents had left for work at 6:30 that morning, meaning that Hyunjin was likely still asleep. His three alarms really were quite useless. Slipping his shoes off, Changbin made his way up the narrow staircase to his boyfriend’s bedroom. He didn’t bother with being quiet, knowing that Hyunjin would sleep through any noise he made.  

 

Once in the room, Changbin dropped his backpack on the floor and crawled up onto the bed. He groped at the unidentifiable mess of blankets and limbs, trying to discern Hyunjin’s head from the rest of the tangle. His hands finally found their way into a soft mop of hair and Changbin pushed the blankets aside, leaning down to plant a loud, wet kiss on each of Hyunjin’s cheeks. He laughed softly at the grumble Hyunjin let out as the younger boy tried to burrow deeper into his nest and pulled gently on his arms. 

 

“Come on, we’ve got school in 45 minutes and I’m not letting you be late for the first day.”

 

Hyunjin replied with more unintelligible mumbling, but allowed Changbin to haul him up and shove him towards the bathroom, uniform in hand. When Changbin had confirmed that the boy was in the bathroom, and not lying unconscious on the hallway carpet, he returned to Hyunjin’s bed and began scrolling through his phone. 

 

Hyunjin emerged from the bathroom a little under twenty minutes later, looking more alive than before, but hardly awake. Changbin laughed as he brushed the younger’s hair into place with his fingers, smoothing out the bedhead and straightening his jacket before tossing Hyunjin both of their backpacks and running downstairs. Hyunjin caught up to him at the door and shoved his feet into sneakers before accepting the yogurt drink and convenience store bread Changbin offered him. They left the house together, Changbin locking up as Hyunjin sipped on his yogurt.

 

Humming in contentment at the sweet custard bun, Hyunjin draped himself over Changbin’s back as they walked. Luckily, their high school was a short 15 minute walk, so if they didn’t dawdle, they’d still be on time. Changbin pulled a sleepy Hyunjin along with him, ignoring his boyfriend’s protests as he forced them into an awkward speed-walk. Awkward, mainly because Hyunjin seemed to be non-verbally trying to convince Changbin to piggyback him.

 

They made it to school with less than five minutes to spare and Changbin pressed a quick kiss onto Hyunjin’s pouting lips before shouting a goodbye and speeding off, his class being on the top floor of the three story building. Hyunjin, resigning himself to a fate of boring lectures and introduction speeches, trudged to his own classroom on the second floor.

 

The morning passed rather uneventfully. As it was the first day of school not many teachers actually made an effort to teach anything, focusing primarily on reviewing the class syllabi and going through introductions. In some ways this was even more boring than actual classwork, and by lunchtime Hyunjin found himself dozing off on his desk. He trudged back down to the cafeteria on the first floor, finding his way to the table he and his friends had claimed as their own in the previous years. Slumping down into a seat, Hyunjin ignored the questioning look that his friend, Seungmin, sent his way, opting instead to put his head down on his arms and try to catch a few minutes of sleep before the others showed up.

 

“Aren’t you going to get your food?” Seungmin asked, rudely interrupting Hyunjin’s much needed nap. Hyunjin glared at the younger boy and yawned, turning his face back into his sleeves before he answered.

 

“Changbin hyung always gets my tray too.”

 

“Right,” Seungmin said, “I forgot how codependent you two are.” Hyunjin laughed at the disgust in the other boys voice and finally moved to sit up.

 

“Don’t be so mean just cause you’ve never been in a relationship.” Hyunjin quipped back. He stretched languidly, long arms nearly smacking into the kid sitting at the table behind him. 

 

“Hey watch it!” A voice growled from beside the gangly boy, and Hyunjin grinned as he turned around.

 

“Binniiiieeeeeee” He whined, pouting when Changbin avoided his attempt to hug the shorter male. “I’m sleepy.”

 

“At least let me put down the trays.” Changbin sighed. Once he had ensured both lunch trays were safely on the table, Changbin slipped into the seat on Hyunjin’s left and allowed the younger boy to koala up to him. Seungmin watched on in disgust as Changbin began spooning rice into his mouth with one hand while the other combed through Hyunjin’s hair. When Changbin began feeding Hyunjin bites off his own tray, Seungmin made a gagging noise. Changbin just laughed at the younger boys misery, well accustomed to this daily ritual.

 

Hyunjin and Changbin were the golden couple of their friend group, having been dating since they were in middle school. They were essentially attached at the hip. It wasn’t a perfect relationship though, they had no disillusion about that. They fought, sometimes over petty things, but they always apologized. Once, when Changbin was in grade 10 and Hyunjin had been left behind at middle school, they had even broken up. Neither could remember what the fight had been over, or even who had broken it off. The break up had lasted a grand total of six days before they both realized they were being stupid and ran outside into the freezing rain to apologize. They had very nearly ran past each other in their haste to get to the other’s house, would have actually if not for Hyunjin tripping at that moment and lending face first in a muddy puddle. They had cried and held each other, both apologizing for wrong-doings neither had been able to recall. And they wondered why their friends called them dramatic.

 

Seungmin was still pretending to throw up when the last of their little group arrived. Han Jisung was a squirrely looking boy who, together with Changbin and an older boy named Bang Chan, had created a sort of “rap group” sometime last year. Changbin had met Chan when the older boy had been a senior and Changbin had just started high school, and it was through Chan that he had met Jisung when the youngest was still in middle school. The trio had quickly bonded over their love of music and sometime along the way had begun to write their own music as well. It had started out a joke, calling themselves a silly name Jisung had come up with (3racha) and playing around with the music equipment Chan’s uncle let them borrow. But well… now they had a successful spotify page and Chan was in his second year at university majoring in music production. After Chan had graduated, Minho had found his way into their group, having known Hyunjin from dance and integrating himself into the groups friendly banter with ease.

 

But now it was just Changbin, Hyunjin, Jisung, and Seungmin left at the school. And a boy Jisung was towing behind him. Changbin blinked, watching as Jisung pulled on the arm of a very cute, very uncomfortable looking student. When Jisung finally made it to their table, Changbin could tell that the other boy was around the same height as the younger rapper, and that he had  light freckles scattered across his cheeks. The boy looked at the group of friends nervously and glanced at Jisung for help.

 

“Everyone, meet Felix! Felix, this is everyone!”

 

“How very descriptive of you Jisung.” 

 

Jisung stuck his tongue out at Seungmin, pushing Felix down into a seat beside Changbin before taking his own seat across the table. Changbin felt Hyunjin shift in his arms in order to see Felix better from Changbin’s other side.

 

“Chan hyung’s cousin, right?” He asked. Ah, that’s where Changbin knew his name from. Chan had told them his cousin was moving from Australia and would be transferring to their school starting this year. He guessed Jisung had spent the holidays at Chan’s house, given how close he already seemed with Felix.

 

The freckled boy nodded in response, mumbling something that was too quiet for Changbin to make out. Hyunjin asked a few more questions, with Felix either stuttering out a couple words in answer or, more often than not, looking desperately at Jisung for help. Unfortunately for Felix, Jisung was too preoccupied trying to steal the fruit cup off of Seungmin’s tray to notice. Eventually, Hyunjin became more interested in his food and whined for Changbin to feed him again, which Changbin did as Felix watched them with his mouth half open. 

 

Changbin smiled at Felix, taking in how the boy’s blond hair contrasted starkly with his navy uniform jacket. He could tell from before that the younger seemed to be at the very least unconfident with his Korean and he wished he could somehow make him more comfortable within their friend group. He knew both Jisung and Seungmin were good at english and Felix would probably be able to converse easily with them, but Changbin wanted the younger to know that he could be at ease around him and Hyunjin as well. 

 

“You are from Australia?” Changbin asked hesitantly, hoping he had pronounced that right. Felix looked up from his lunch tray and stared at Changbin with wide eyes. When Changbin gave him what he hoped was an encouraging smile, Felix nodded.

 

“Ya, I only got to Korea a few days ago.”

 

“Oh,” Changbin started, not really sure where to go from there, “that must be… big change.” Changbin knew he didn’t sound fluent, but Felix smiled and responded with something Changbin could only half-understand so he counted it as a win.

 

Their conversation went on for a few minutes with Changbin putting every ounce of his Grade 11 English class knowledge to use before the others joined in. Changbin knew his english was mediocre at best, and both Jisung and Seungmin have zero problems pointing that out as they laughed at was Changbin had thought was a proper answer to something Felix had asked. But Felix looked a lot more comfortable now, so Changbin decided that the lunch period had been successful.

 

* * *

 

Felix had gotten his marks when he was young, barely five years old. He had grown up with two loving parents and a pair of evil, but adorable sisters, and had never had to wonder what it felt like to be loved unconditionally. However, when Felix’s marks appeared he had, not one, but two little animals inked onto his skin. The first was a little puppy that seemed to enjoy racing across Felix’s feet and up his calves. The other was a tiny falcon who’s favorite perch seemed to be just behind Felix’s ear. 

 

Felix had grown up watching these two small animals playing on his skin. When he was around eleven, Felix noticed that the two tattoos seemed to be together nearly all the time. His mother had told him that this likely meant his soulmates had already met each other and formed a relationship. Felix hadn’t known what to feel about this. On one hand, he was happy that the two people he was fated to love were happy together, but on the other hand he found himself worrying about what would happen when he finally joined them. If they had already developed such a strong relationship, was Felix even needed? 

 

Then, when Felix was thirteen, the animals had abruptly separated themselves and retreated to the polar opposites of his body. The falcon once more hidden behind the curve of Felix’s ear. Felix had spent an agonizing year wondering what could have happened between the two to drive them apart so drastically. And this led to even more anxiety around what would happen should the two never reconcile. Apparently, Felix had nothing to worry about though, as before his fourteenth birthday the animals were back to cuddling at the bend of his elbow, or chasing each other across his belly. 

 

Felix had grown up watching his two tattoos, but aside from his family, he had never told anyone about them. It’s not that he was ashamed of them, but rather Felix had always been a shy child, and he got self-conscious easily. Having two marks was rare, and Felix prefered to not draw any extra attention to himself. He hadn’t even told his cousin about his marks, though he supposed the elder would likely find out about them soon enough now that they were in the same country.

 

Now that he was in Korea, Felix found himself being more cautious about covering the tattoos up, uncertain as to how people in this new country would react to him having two soulmates. It wasn’t difficult, the Falcon still liked to spend most of its time behind Felix’s ear, and the puppy was more often than not running across Felix’s legs or stomach. So as long as he never wore shorts and didn’t take off his shirt, he should be fine. 

 

* * *

 

Despite his apprehensions, and his awkward first lunch period, Felix made friends quickly with the four boys. He was delighted to learn how fluent Seungmin was in english, comforting himself with having at least two friends at school he could fall back on should he need help, or just get overwhelmed. He also learned that he and Hyunjin were in the same dance elective together, something the older of the two was particularly excited about. Changbin was the only member of the group Felix didn’t have classes with, seeing as Changbin was in a different grade, but Felix enjoyed the conversations he had with the older during lunch time. It was sweet how hard the eldest tried to make Felix as comfortable as possible, and Felix felt his heart swell when Changbin went out of his way to make sure Felix wasn’t lost when the group conversed.

 

He also learned more about the strange dynamic between Changbin and Hyunjin. Felix had been shocked to say the least when he had watched Changbin feeding the younger on his first day. By the end of his first week he had accepted that this was a normal occurrence, as Hyunjin never seemed to fully wake up until sometime around 2pm. Felix thought it was endearing how Changbin babied his boyfriend, and giggled a little when Hyunjin would wrap his long limbs around Changbin’s waist. Felix found it adorable, Seungmin called it unpleasant. 

 

Slowly, Felix found himself fitting into the little group, feeling more at ease with every day. Hyunjin, especially, Felix found himself opening up to. Something that wa both a blessing and a curse because, well, Hyunjin was  _ very _ pretty. And Felix would be lying if he said he hadn’t caught himself looking at those plush lips once or twice.  Felix got along well with all of his new friends, but he found he had a soft spot for Hyunjin, even agreeing to be the tallers partner for a project in dance.

 

The project was to choreograph a minute long performance as a duet to a song of their choice. Felix was nervous, as he had only been in the class for two weeks at this point and he was well aware that Hyunjin was both a talented dancer and a widely popular classmate whom other students would have fought to have as a partner. Hyunjin, however, was either too oblivious to realize this, or didn’t care as he loudly proclaimed that he was going to be partnering up with Felix. He had put both of their names down on the instructor’s paper before grabbing his water bottle and tugging Felix by his bag strap out of the room.

 

“Where are we going?” Felix asked as he hurried to keep up with Hyunjin’s unnecessarily long strides.

 

“I wanted to snatch one of the better practice rooms before they were all taken!” Hyunjin replied, sending Felix a bright smile. “Duet projects are hard to choreograph if everyone is in the same room so they let us use the extra practice rooms.” One thing Felix had noted over the past week was that all four of his new friends seemed to slow down when they spoke to him. Ensuring that he had understood what they said before moving on to their next sentence. It was something Felix was very thankful for, and would have to find some way to repay them when his Korean had improved.

 

Hyunjin stopped in front of an frosted glass door, throwing it open to reveal a smaller dance studio lit up with a soft glow from the floor to ceiling windows that lined one of the walls. There was a skip to Hyunjin’s step as he walked into the empty room, and Felix had a feeling this was Hyunjin’s usual studio from the way the boy made his way over to the stereo and connected his phone to it with practiced ease. 

 

“Alright!” Hyunjin turned back to Felix, “Let’s get started!”

 

The two quickly decided on a song for the duet, having similar tastes in both music and dance styles. Afterwards they stretched for a few minutes before diving right in to their choreography. It was the last period of the day, so they didn’t feel the need to rush as the clock hand edged towards three o’clock, knowing they could continue into the afternoon should they choose to. Especially since Hyunjin apparently had this same studio room booked out most days after school. 

 

“Changbin hyung and I spend a lot of time in here” Hyunjin gasped from his place on the floor. They had just finished  running through a rough outline of their choreography for what was probably the twentieth time. They had finalized the first 15 seconds and mapped out the rest, but had decided to take a 15 minute water break. A water break that consisted of both of them staying in their prone positions and neither making even the slightest effort to move for water. 

 

“He works on his music while I dance, the sunset is really pretty.” 

 

Felix hummed, he could imagine what the room would look like bathed in the warm orange glow of the dying sun. It was quiet here, like he could almost forget the rest of the world existed.

 

“Changbin-hyung does music with Jisung and Chan-hyung  right?” Felix asked. He knew very well that the trio was a group, he had all their tracks downloaded already, but he wanted to keep the conversation going.”

 

“Ya,” Hyunjin replied, “He’s hoping to go into music production like Chan-hyung after he graduates. He’s really talented.” Felix could hear how proud Hyunjin was of Changbin and he found himself smiling, the older boy’s happiness was infectious. He really admired the older couple. They seemed so confident in their relationship, so comfortable. Felix hoped to some day have that as well.

 

After another minute, felix heard Hyunjin push himself off the ground, groaning as his limbs protested the movement. He made his was over to Felix, who was still lost in thought, and stuck out a hand to help the younger up. Hyunjin hauled the blond boy to his feet, and was about to turn around and restart the music when Felix’s grip tightened. 

 

Felix could hear Hyunjin asking him what was wrong, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from their linked hands. A familiar puppy ran across Felix’s wrist, moving to circle around what looked to be a lynx on Hyunjin’s knuckles. He heard Hyunjin gasp, and then Felix’s hand was being held in both of Hyunjin’s larger ones.

 

“Felix…” Hyunjin breathed

 

Felix heard the blood pounding in his ears. He had imagined meeting his soulmate so many times. Imagined how happy they would both be, imagined the dates and cuddles and kisses to follow. But now all he could think of was whether or not Hyunjin wanted him. Hyunjin and Changbin. They were the overly affectionate couple whose relationship he had watched develop through his tattoos. The overly affectionate couple who Felix had been watching over lunch for nearly two weeks now. They were the perfect couple, would they want Felix intruding in that? 

 

He was so caught up in his own mind that he almost didn’t hear Hyunjin asking him something, and even when he focused back in on Hyunjin’s voice, he wasn’t sure he had understood the Korean words. It seemed like it didn’t matter though, because the next thing he knew Hyunjin was pulling away from Felix and rolling up his sleeve to show Felix a little falcon tattoo at the crook of his elbow. Felix gasped, recognizing the falcon as the one that was most likely perched behind his own ear at that very moment. He nodded, turning around and pointing to the back of his ear. Felix shivered a little as Hyunjin’s fingers carded through his hair, combing the blond strands back in order to see the little tattoo better. Hyunjin must have found it, because the older boy let out a noise not unlike an appeased seagull and spun Felix around to pull him into a bone-crushing hug. 

 

Felix melted into Hyunjin’s arms, but was pulled back to reality when Hyunjin abruptly pushed away, grabbing Felix’s hand and dragging him out of the studio. Felix tried to ask Hyunjin where they were going, but Hyunjin seemed to be ignoring him as he sprinted down the hall and around a corner. He skidded to a stop so abruptly that Felix crashed into the taller’s back, gripping Hyunjin’s shirt to steady himself. Hyunjin, oblivious to Felix’s near accident, threw open a door with a loud bang and took long strides into the classroom. Felix looked around as Hyunjin pulled him along, noticing that it was some sort of music class. There were instruments lined up along the walls, and music stands arranged in a semi-circle facing the front of the room. Luckily, there didn’t seem to be a teacher there at the moment, and the students seemed to be working in groups of two or three so Felix hoped they weren’t interrupting anything. Hyunjin was still panting as he dragged Felix across the room and shoved the shorter boy into someone’s arms. Felix turned to meet Changbin’s wide eyes and he suddenly realized what Hyunjin was doing. He glanced behind him to see Hyunjin grinning from ear to ear and gulped, reaching out to take Changbin’s hand in his own.

 

“Hyunjin what-” Changbin’s voice cut off as he stared down at his and Felix’s interlocked fingers, and the two small animals weaving around each other. Felix could feel his face heating up the longer Changbin starred. It didn’t help that the entire classroom had turned to watch the interaction. Felix cleared his throat, hoping to get Changbin’s attention off their hands. It worked. Changbin looked up with something close to  _ absolute panic _ on his face, which did nothing to calm the rising panic attack Felix was combating as well. He didn’t have time to dwell on what this meant, however, as Changbin grabbed Hyunjin and dragged both boys out of the classroom, ignoring Jisung’s loud catcalls from behind them. As soon as they made it to the hallway, Changbin broke into a run, dragging them back to the dance studio Hyunjin and Felix had abandoned not ten minutes prior.

 

The next 30 minutes were a blur to Felix. They talked. A lot. They talked about what it meant that they had three soulmates, and they talked about how their relationship would work. At some point Felix found himself crying, though he’s not entirely sure why. But Hyunjin wiped his tears away with gentle fingers, and Changbin squished his cheeks and pulled Felix in to cuddle between the two and maybe, Felix had nothing to worry about after all.

 

* * *

 

Sunday afternoon found all three boys curled on the couch in Hyunjin’s living room. It was one of the rare weekends that all three of them had the day off, and they were using it to their advantage. That is, doing nothing and cuddling for hours at a time. 

 

Despite Felix’s worries about how he would fit into their relationship, Changbin and Hyunjin had been more than welcoming. Both boys ensured that Felix never felt left out, and they let him open up to them at his own pace. Despite Changbin and Hyunjin being comfortable with kissing, and despite their burning desire to kiss their youngest boyfriend senseless, they knew it was up to Felix to determine when he was ready. They had allowed their relationship to develop slowly, taking their time and truly enjoying what every new day brought them. And eventually, Felix had stopped feeling like he was an extra.

 

Things had changed again when Changbin had graduated. He had been accepted into the same university as Chan, meaning he could continue to live at home and commute the short 20 min by bus every day to his classes on music theory and production. But it left Hyunjin and Felix on their own at school. Seungmin argued that the two of them were even worse than Changbin and Hyunjin were at lunch, as Felix was equally as whiny as Hyunjin and demanded to be shown as much affection as he dished out. Changbin, for his part, annoyed Jisung and Seungmin to no end. Demanding that the two send him pictures and videos of these interactions, lest the eldest in the relationship feel left out. Jisung was more than happy to oblige the older, Seungmin not so much. 

 

What really changed the most after Changbin graduated was how often they were all able to spend time together. More and more often it would be two of them hanging out together at one time, the third having some project or meeting or family event that forced them to be left out. So on the rare days that all three of them could be together, they would congregate at one of their houses and just enjoy each other’s presence.

 

Today, Changbin had fallen asleep almost as soon as he had arrived, wrapping his arms around Hyunjin’s neck and burying his face into the taller’s shoulder. Hyunjin had hoisted the older boy up, wrapping Changbin’s legs around his waist and waddling over to the couch. Once Hyunjin was sitting on the couch, Changbin still hugged against his chest like a baby monkey, Felix tucked himself against their sides. Felix reached out to card his fingers through Changbin’s black strands, smiling when Changbin leaned into his touch.

 

He looked up to see Hyunjin watching him, a smile on his face. Hyunjin leaned down, slowly, giving Felix time to move away if he wanted to. Felix didn’t though, and instead he turned his face upward to meet Hyunjin’s lips halfway. Felix could feel Hyunjin’s giggles bubbling between their lips. It was intoxicating and Felix pushed forward to join their mouths again. He could have melted at the look of love in Hyunjin’s eyes when they pulled apart. They’d been officially dating for over eight months now, and Felix still sometimes forgot to breath around the two older boys.

 

“You know, when I was little I used to be really self-conscious about having two soulmates.” Felix confided, his voice hushed so as not to wake Changbin. “I was worried about how I would fit into the relationship, or if I would meet one soulmate and they wouldn’t have two marks.”

 

A hand found its way to Felix’s cheek, guiding his face back to Hyunjin’s. There was sadness in Hyunjin’s eyes at hearing Felix’s concerns, but also understanding. Felix realized that his worries had probably been shared by both Changbin and Hyunjin at some point in their lives as well.

 

“Sweetheart,” Hyunjin whispered. Felix shivered at the name, and the way Hyunjin’s breath ghosted over his skin as the older boy leaned in once more.

 

“You have two soulmates because you’re just that lovable. One heart could not hold all the love you deserve.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's part 2! What do you guys think? Would you be interested in a bonus chapter? Also keep your eye out for Minsung, Woochan, and Seungin's stories from this universe! They'll be out.... sometime lol. I hope you enjoyed this and if you haven't yet, check out our Ink Prints fic for Pentagon's maknae line a.k.a the one shot that started this all!

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! Here is the 4th instalment of Riza's (Neko_Ryn) and my (georgieP) Ink Prints series. I'm still not super confident in writing romance so I hope I did ok ^-^ Feel free to leave tips or constructive criticism in the comments! This fic will be two chapters long, and there might be a bonus third chapter if you guys want!


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